Future reward enough for returning reservists
By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
For the Marines of 4th Force Reconnaissance Company, duty in Iraq was a wild ride that hasn't ended, even with their return home.
Sgt. Al Scott was reunited with his wife, Yuki, as Marines from the 4th Force Reconnaissance Company returned from Iraq on Tuesday. Scott married shortly before being deployed in February.
The approximately 30 platoon members who deployed — most of them reservists — crossed from Kuwait into Iraq on March 27, helped liberate cities such as Ad Diwaniyah and Al Kut during the war, and dodged a roadside "improvised explosive device" several weeks ago that could have blown their convoy sky high.
At least two were newlyweds before they deployed more than seven months ago, and uncertainty about job, home and future await some of the Marines, who returned on a C-5 Galaxy to Kane'ohe Bay on Tuesday.
"Hey, Rose, where do we live?" joked Cpl. Frank Prinea, 23, after reuniting with his wife and 5-year-old daughter, Kaceylin.
Three of the reservists had left behind jobs providing marksmanship training for a Navy contractor that folded while they were gone.
But the Marines, most with strong ties to Hawai'i and the elite unit to which they belong, say they would not have missed the Iraq duty for the world.
"It was just something that every Marine wants at least once in their career," said Prinea, a 1998 Moanalua High graduate. "It was a great opportunity to go over there and fight for our country at such a young age."
After the seven-month combination of combat, Meals Ready to Eat, dust and heat, being back in Ha-wai'i and with family again was its own reward.
"It feels great. That's about as simple as I can put it," said Sgt. Al Scott, 33, who married shortly before being deployed. One of the now-unemployed marksmanship instructors, Scott isn't worried — yet.
"Not in the least," he said. "We'll see where it goes. I'm kind of one of those believers that things happen for a reason."
The 4th Force Marines deployed Feb. 9 with 250 other Marines from the 3rd Radio Battalion as part of the largest ground force from Hawai'i to take part in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Courtesy Maj. Mark Hashimoto
In addition to the 4th Force Marines, 28 from 3rd Radio Battalion also returned to Kane'ohe Bay on Tuesday, while 29 remain in the Persian Gulf.
Sgt. Scott, third from left, plays cards at Al Kut Airfield in Iraq as the plume of a large explosion can be seen in the background.
The 4th Force Marines are special operations forces whose specialty is operating deep behind enemy lines. They searched for Iraqi paramilitary forces, recruited resistance fighters and helped liberate cities, including Ad Diwaniyah and Al Kut, south of Baghdad.
In mid-June, the platoon became part of Task Force Scorpion and operated in Yusafiah, seeking out Baathist Party holdouts who were sniping at Army convoys and booby-trapping roadways.
Like the "Sunni Triangle" to the north, the Yusafiah area brought almost daily attacks on U.S. forces based out of a resupply depot known as Camp Dogwood.
"Iraq is still a dangerous place, and the Army that has been extended there, they've got their work cut out for a long time," Scott said.
A veteran of the first Gulf War who has been with 4th Force for 5 1/2 years, Scott said that in 1991, the newly liberated Kuwait could return to the structure it had before Iraq invaded.
"This is just my opinion, but the plans for occupation (of Iraq) were not as well thought out as giving Kuwait back to the Kuwaitis," he said. "I think after 35 years of oppression (in Iraq), we kind of assumed too much. We assumed certain structures like electricity and water were not too damaged, and when we got there, that wasn't the case."
Just two days before their mission was to end, the platoon had its closest call with the booby traps that each week take the lives of American soldiers.
Marines in three Humvees and four light armored vehicles set out on a raid to pick up a Baathist leader. Outside the city, a booby trap of four to five artillery shells had been strung up.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
"What they did was daisy-chain these bombs on the side of the road," Scott said. "It's what's been going on ever since we've been there, and you see on the news with vehicles getting hit."
Sgt. Frank Prinea gets a kiss from his daughter Kaceylin, 5. Prinea, a 1998 graduate of Moanalua High, said fighting in Iraq was an opportunity every Marine would like to have "at least once in their career."
Several of the shells exploded, and "it was like something out of 'Terminator 3' — the sky just lights up with a cloud of dust and fire," Scott said.
Two vehicles had passed, the Marines had good spacing on the roadway, and the blast passed between them. "Luckily — bad timing on their part, and good timing on ours," Scott said.
Platoon member Maj. Mark Hashimoto said the unit has a tight bond, because of its Hawai'i ties and length of time some members have served, which was only intensified by the deployment.
"It was strong before, but it's even stronger now," he said. The Hawai'i-based Marines were the last "force recon" Marines to leave Iraq.
Kawehi Fo, who was a 4th Force member for 7 1/2 years before leaving the reserve unit more than eight months ago, had a big cooler full of beer in the back of his Bronco for the returning Marines on Tuesday.
"The hardest decision I made was getting out," said Fo, 25. "I tried to get back in when they got called up, but it wasn't happening. It didn't work out."
Staff Sgt. Steven Taylor said "family, and being in the United States" were the best things about being back in Hawai'i. "I can drive down the road and not have to worry about a bomb going off," he said.
Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5459.
